The Association for the Blind (AFTB) was established in 1936 by a dedicated group of volunteers and members of the American Foundation for the Blind.  It was chartered and incorporated in April 1937.

Desiring a permanent home, AFTB purchased 41 Pitt Street in 1957, which made expansion possible and gave AFTB the ability to serve the entire Tri-County area.  Job opportunities for the blind over the years have included chair caning, medical transcription and light industry.  Programs have included beep ball, bowling and other recreational and informal education classes.

In June 2002, the Association moved to a rental location at 1071 Morrison Drive, which has given greater visibility to all aspects of the operation.  The sale of its Pitt Street building allowed the Association to establish a significant endowment to secure the future of services to vision impaired residents of the Lowcountry. 

The Association always strives to find ways to collaborate with other organizations in order to best serve its members.  Collaboration with the Veterans Administration began in 2003 and then, from March 2004 until December of 2008, the Feldberg Low Vision Center of the Storm Eye Institute was located at the Association's facility.  In addition, the Association began working with the South Carolina Commission for the Blind in July 2006 to offer free computer classes for the legally blind.

In 2001, the Living Well with Partial Vision program was established to give in-home vision rehabilitation to those who have lost a significant portion of their vision and wish to remain safe and independent.  Living Well with Partial Vision therapy supplements eye doctor care and helps with self-care and home management, such as cooking, identifying medications, reading, paying bills, enjoying hobbies, etc.

The 2008 Eye Care for the Underserved pilot program funded by Coastal Community Foundation uncovered a huge need for eye care; including education, free vision exams, refractions and glasses for indigent Tri-County residents with income below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Responding to that need, the ReFocus Program was created in 2009. ReFocus is an mobile outreach program that provides complete eye exams including refraction and prescription eye glasses, eye disease education, prevention, and diagnosis to indigent residents at outreach agencies throughout the Lowcountry.  

In 2010, the ReFocus program served over 1,000 medically indigent people in the Lowcountry. The purpose of the ReFocus program is to provide free, comprehensive, professional eye exams, follow-up care, education and eyewear to medically indigent children, youth, families and homeless/uninsured adults.  The ultimate goal of ReFocus program is to reduce the incidence of unnecessary vision loss and impairment by providing access to on-going, donated system of comprehensive vision care services.

2010 also marked the pilot year of ReFocus on Children, an offshoot of our ReFocus program that provided pre-Kindergarten children the opportunity to receive free, comprehensive, professional eye screenings and examinations if needed, education and prescription eyewear. The ultimate goal of ReFocus on Children is to reduce the incidence of unnecessary vision loss and learning impairment by providing access to ongoing comprehensive vision care. This program was a collaborative effort between the Association for the Blind, the Charleston County School District, MUSC's Storm Eye Institute and the College of Charleston's School of Education, Health and Human Performance. We hope to expand ReFocus on Children in the 2011-12 school year.